The increasingly strict legislation governing internal safety of motor vehicles has resulted in a situation in which convertibles are no longer allowed to be built in certain countries. In order to meet the desires of the public for as much fresh air as possible and an unimpeded view during good weather, more and more vehicles are being built with sun roofs. In the case of vehicles in which the size of the roof is insufficient to allow installation of a sliding roof as well as vehicles in lower price categories in which the cost of a sun roof is relatively high relative to the total cost of the vehicle, tilting covers are known which in recent models can also be removed from the vehicles, in order to offer the passengers a free roof opening which is the same as that in vehicles equipped with sliding roofs when the latter are slid back. A disadvantage of this type of roof is that above a certain speed unpleasant wind noise and suction are produced. The wind deflectors which are known on sliding roofs, firmly installed and folding automatically when the sliding roof is closed, cannot be used on vehicle roofs with removable covers, since the hinge connection between the leading edge of the cover and roof frame leaves no space to install such a wind deflector. Wind deflectors mounted on the roof likewise cannot be used because they prevent removal of the cover.
The invention contemplates providing a vehicle body panel member such as a vehicle roof with a cover removably mounted within a roof opening, the rear end of said cover being swivellable upward out of the opening, and has the purpose of allowing a largely suction-free and noise-free ventilation of the interior of the vehicle when the cover is removed.
This goal is achieved according to the invention by virtue of the fact that receiving elements, preferably at least two receiving elements, are mounted in the forward part of a frame surrounding a roof opening, said receiving elements serving for optional releasable fastening of the cover or of a wind deflector, whereby the cover and the wind deflector are provided with plug-in elements which correspond position-wise and can be removed from the receiving elements.
The proposal according to the invention therefore makes it possible, after removing the cover, to insert a wind deflector in the same receiving elements, whereby a suction-free and noise-free ventilation is provided without any additional fastening elements having to be provided on the vehicle itself for the wind deflector.
Although the plug-in elements and the receiving elements are to be designed so that inadvertent release of the cover and/or wind deflector through human error cannot occur, it is advantageous, according to another feature of preferred embodiments of the invention, to provide additional safety devices which must first be unlocked manually before the wind deflector and/or cover may be removed.
In embodiments where the receiving elements are formed of inserts disposed in slots in a vertical front wall of a forward part of the frame surrounding the opening, said inserts projecting backward from the vertical wall, the wind deflector and/or cover are preferably provided on their respective underside with a swivellable safety clip for each insert, said clip fitting beneath the projecting part of the insert when the wind deflector or cover is inserted. Preferably, the safety clip is subject to the action of a spring, which tends to keep the safety clip in its locked position. By swivelling the clip against the force of the spring, the safety clip can be freed from the insert, so that the wind deflector and/or cover can be pulled out of the receiving elements.
Alternatively, a swivellable clip may be provided on the wind deflector according to other preferred embodiments, said clip being lockable in a slot located essentially horizontally in a strip mounted on the frame. Preferably, the slit extends forward from the rear edge of the strip, whereby its forward end is located higher than its beginning. In this manner, the clip can be pulled out of the slot only when the wind deflector is pressed downward. When the vehicle is braked, on the other hand, forces act upon the wind deflector which tend to move it in the opposite direction, namely forward. In this direction of movement, however, the wind deflector is held securely by the safety clip.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.